January 14, 2014

Travel Diaries: Rome, Day 1

As you must all know by now, I'm currently in Italy. Rome, to be more precise. Which means there will be a lot of travel-related posts (and food, of course) these days on the blog.

After spending more than 15 hours in between planes and airports, I finally managed to arrive in Rome. I was sleep deprived and hungry, so the first stop for me was obviously lunch. We went to a restaurant that's near my hotel called San Marco, which is probably my friends' favourite place in Rome. I had penne all'arrabbiata, which is definitely my go-to choice for a first meal I'm absolutely sure I will like! Although, to be honest, I expected the sauce to be a little more cooked––since the tomatoes felt a little too raw––I did love the fact that it felt almost like home-made by my mum!

After lunch, I had a quick shower, and then went out for a walk on Via del Corso with my friends. I realised that moment how quickly you forget how magic and wonderful the streets of Rome can be. We started at Piazza del Popolo, which is only a few blocks away from our hotel, and then continued down to the Spanish stairs and the Trevi fountain. By the time we got there, it was almost dark, which meant that we got to see all the monuments at one of the best hours of the day!

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

After this lovely walk, we went for dinner, at a place called Ricafé. We had some rice balls, fried cheese, and other fried dishes before ordering our main dish. The house's specialty was pizza, but I was too full to eat one. So I chose prosciutto e melone instead. This is other of my all-time Italian favourites! And it was truly delicious.

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

By midnight we were all ready to have some gelato for dessert, so we went back to the Spanish stairs, where we took pictures and bought our ice creams. Of course, the waiters had to make fun of us and pose for our pictures!

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

We walked back to the Trevi fountain and made our wishes. It was much better visiting the place so late, because you could actually feel the calm and the magic of it. When there are so many people, you kind of lose the wonderful feeling you get when visiting such an amazing place!

Rome, January 2014

Rome, January 2014

We went back to the hotel and off to sleep. I was so tired that the night went by in just a few seconds, before I had to wake up to continue my roman adventures! But I'll tell you more about that tomorrow...

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio